The present invention relates to fiber optic communications systems, and more specifically, to amplification of optical signals propagating in an optical fiber.
Optical signals for conveying information in a fiber optic communication system experience attenuation as the optical signals are transmitted though an optical fiber over extended distances. The attenuated optical signal can be regenerated using amplifiers such as optical fiber Raman amplifiers, which rely on stimulated Raman scattering to transfer energy to the optical signal. The optical fiber Raman amplifier comprises a fiber that receives two input beams: a pump beam and the optical signal. Energy in the pump beam is coupled into the signal beam through stimulated Raman scattering, and the optical signal is thereby amplified upon passing through the fiber amplifier. The extent of amplification or gain depends on the relation between the polarization of the pump beam and that of the signal beam. If both the pump beam and the signal beam are linearly polarized and have electric fields oriented in the same direction, then the gain is higher than if the electric fields are oriented perpendicular to each other. Disadvantageously, fluctuations in the polarization of the signal or pump beam that cause the relative orientations of the electric fields to vary produce fluctuations in the gain of the amplifier. For example, the gain will decrease for pump and signal beams that initially have electric fields oriented parallel but are reoriented so as to no longer be parallel. Conversely, gain will increase if the beams are initially perpendicular but subsequently contain parallel components. Such fluctuations in the gain cause variations in the intensity of the optical signal, which introduces noise into the signal and thereby increases the likelihood of errors in transmitting information over optical fibers.
In conventional systems designed to minimize fluctuations in gain, the pump beam is provided by two or more semiconductor lasers that output polarized light. The polarized light is directed to a coupler that combines the light from the different semiconductor lasers after first separating the respective beams into perpendicular polarizations. For example, in the case where two semiconductors are employed to pump the fiber amplifier, light emitted from the two semiconductors is input into the coupler. The coupler causes the polarized light beams from the two semiconductor lasers to have electric fields oriented perpendicular to each other and produces a combined beam that is then directed to the optical fiber Raman amplifier.
Although employing a plurality of semiconductor lasers can reduce the fluctuations in gain, requiring more than one semiconductor laser adds to the complexity of the amplifier. What is needed is a design for an optical fiber Raman amplifier that is simpler and less expensive yet that minimizes the fluctuation in gain caused by variations in polarization of the pump and signal beams.
Methods and apparatus for optical signal amplification are provided. In one embodiment, an amplifier for amplifying optical signals comprises a light source having as an output a first beam of light characterized by a first degree of polarization, a depolarizer optically connected to the light source so as to receive the first light beam as an input and having as an output a pump beam characterized by a second degree of polarization wherein said second degree of polarization is less than said first degree of polarization. A gain medium is optically connected to the depolarizer so as to receive the optical signal and the pump beam as inputs and is configured to transfer energy from the pump beam to the optical signal. The depolarizer advantageously comprises one or more birefringent optical fibers.
A method of making an optical signal amplifier in one embodiment of the invention comprises coupling a light source to an input of at least one birefringent optical fiber and coupling an output of said at least one birefringent optical fiber to a gain medium.
Methods of optical signal amplification include collecting light from a light source that emits at least partially polarized light divisible into light of two orthogonal linearly polarized states. This collected light is at least partially depolarized by imparting phase delay between the light of the two orthogonal linearly polarized states and is then directed into a gain medium of an optical signal amplifier. In another embodiment, a method of minimizing polarization induced gain fluctuations in an optical signal amplifier comprises at least partially depolarizing a beam of light from a first light source without combining the beam of light with a second beam of light from a second light source. This at least partially depolarized beam of light is used as a pump beam in the optical signal amplifier.